How it qualified: Advanced by defeating Burkina Faso in a two-game playoff.

Best finish: Algeria has never advanced past the group stage.

About the team: Perhaps most remembered for the last-second loss to the U.S. in the last World Cup, Algeria will play teams tough and may have the quality to finish second in this relatively weak group. Madjid Bougherra, the team’s captain, will lead from defense. The former Rangers man is by far the most experienced player on Algeria’s roster.

Belgium

FIFA world ranking: 12

How it qualified: Finished first in its qualifying group.

Best finish: Semifinals, 1986.

About the team: The roster with the best young talent in the world. From midfielder/forward Eden Hazard to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, almost every position features prospects with difference-making potential. Hazard, the Chelsea man, scored 14 goals last year and is now wanted by other clubs. He’s a good dribbler on the wing and has an ability to get a shot off in tight spaces. Plus, Romelu Lukaku and others will keep defenders inside, giving Hazard more room to maneuver.

South Korea

FIFA world ranking: 55

How it qualified: Finished second in its qualifying group.

Best finish: Semifinals in 2002.

About the team: IT didn’t play well in a weak qualifying group and lack the top-to-bottom quality of the country’s past teams. Still, South Korea rarely beats itself, which gives it the ability to win games late. Lee Chung-Yong, the Bolton midfielder, will captain South Korea.

Russia

FIFA world ranking: 18

How it qualified: Finished first in its qualifying group.

Best finish: Semifinals in 1966.

About the team: Coached by Fabio Capello, this team is built on defense above all else. Every player on the roster plays in the improving Russian league. They are a dark-horse candidate to advance deep into the tournament. Alexander Kerzhakov, the Zenit St. Petersburg player, is a bona fide goal-scorer.

Group analysis

Belgium is among the most intriguing stories in this World Cup, a tiny country with little soccer pedigree suddenly graced with some of the planet’s best players and, according to one paper’s calculations, the third-highest combined salary among the projected starting 11s in Brazil. They have played sublime soccer at times. They have looked underwhelming at others. Algeria, which went scoreless in South Africa, doesn’t pose much of a threat. But danger lurks. Russia, back in the World Cup for the first time since 2002, is rebuilding nicely under Capello with an eye toward hosting in 2018. And South Korea quietly has qualified for eight straight World Cups. It didn’t win a game in the first four, but has been a respectable 5-5-4 since.